NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennesseans are filing for unemployment in record numbers, yet a new report from the Sycamore Institute says the state's unemployment benefits and related employer taxes are among the lowest in the nation.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues with a potential second wave expected, more families are relying on unemployment insurance to stay financially afloat. Sycamore policy director Mandy Pellegrin said COVID-19 has left many wondering what the future holds for the state's system.

"Over the last two decades, Tennesseans have been less likely than other out-of-work Americans in other states to get unemployment benefits," Pellegrin said. "In other words, our recipiency rate is fairly low. And at the same time that that's been going on, the value of the benefits that Tennesseans receive from the program has fallen."

According to the report, Tennessee's unemployment insurance program provided benefits to around 21% of unemployed workers during the first quarter of 2020. The state currently ranks in the bottom eight among states for the number of out-of-work residents who are receiving benefits.

Pellegrin said policymakers might start by taking a look at how Tennessee's unemployment trust fund is supported. Right now, the program gets padded with cash during good times, and is paid out to people when the economy goes downhill.

"Of course, the way the taxes are structured, like they are in nearly every state, is that when your funds get really large, the taxes actually go down," she said. "So, there are some questions about is that actually the best way to to do it."

The additional $600 per week in federal benefits some Tennesseans are receiving through the CARES Act is slated to run out at the end of July. Pellegrin noted it remains uncertain what effect that might have on the economy.

"At the same time, policymakers can't control what people choose to do if they do fear for their health," she said. "So, people (are) choosing to stay home and not go to their local businesses because they fear they might get or spread the virus. "

More than 600,000 people in Tennessee have applied for unemployment benefits since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.


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MANDAN, N.D. -- North Dakota has had nearly 18,000 job openings in recent months, with roughly 1,000 in construction.

A labor leader in the trades said federal legislation to boost infrastructure and social programs could help fill open positions now and in the future. From the already approved American Rescue Plan to the current Build Back Better proposal and the separate infrastructure bill, supporters say the investments could pay off in a variety of ways.

Jason Ehlert, president of North Dakota's Building Trades Unions, said there are opportunities to boost recruitment and training that might appeal to younger generations.

"We're trying to make that link between; there is education in construction," Ehlert explained. "You're just not gonna go to work every day, day in and day out, and just be kind of that grunt. There is education involved in the trades."

Specifically, he pointed out they are pursuing grants under the American Rescue Plan that could provide essential training for those hired to work on the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project.

As for plans being debated, the infrastructure bill has bipartisan support, but the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan faces pushback from GOP lawmakers and business groups who say it is too costly and could harm the economic rebound from the pandemic.

But Ehlert countered the budget reconciliation package addresses gaps in what he calls "wrap-around services" for industries such as construction. For example, he noted bigger investments in child care could allow more females to enter and stay in the field.

"We still always continue to work from that 7-to-4:30 workday, and if you don't have that child-care option, construction's not gonna be a viable career pathway," Ehlert contended.

The Council, which consists of 15 labor organizations around North Dakota, argued extra federal support could also help recruit within communities of color and reach out to Indigenous populations. Ehlert emphasized focusing on training can set new hires up for long-term success, while reducing safety risks as they start their construction careers.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Connecticut's economy has shrunk since the 2008 Great Recession, and combined with highly inequitable wage distribution, that has led to a decrease in quality of life for some families in the state.

That's according to an annual report from Connecticut Voices for Children that looked at how workers and the state's economy are faring overall.

For this year's report, they analyzed data comparing job and economic growth in the state from 2007 to 2019, and then again during the pandemic-induced recession from February to April 2020.

Lead report author and Connecticut Voices for Children Research and Policy Fellow Patrick O'Brien said it shows that the 2020 recession did make the state of the economy worse, but that many of these problems weren't new.

"We never really fully recovered from the Great Recession," said O'Brien. "And so when you look at all these different time frames, we can see that Connecticut's economy has really been struggling for more than a decade and the coronavirus recession basically exacerbated this."

Job growth was an issue in Connecticut prior to the pandemic as well. According to the report, the state saw only a 2.7% increase in jobs between 1990 and 2020, compared with the U.S. seeing a 39.4% increase overall.

Another concern reflected in the report includes wage inequality - including a racial wealth gap - with Connecticut's greater than the U.S. as a whole. According to the report, a typical Black worker in 2019 made about $15 dollars an hour, nearly $6 dollars less than the typical worker in the state.

Some policy solutions O'Brien suggested include progressive budget changes, such as tax reforms that shift the disproportionate burden away from the lower and middle class and on to wealthier residents.

"So you could boost the economy essentially by giving a more fair share to working and middle-class families," said O'Brien. "And so we talk about how you can use the budget to make sure that working and middle-class families are better off, then they're going to spend that money directly into the economy here and that'll help pump up economic growth."

The report in the long-term also suggests Connecticut increase its spending on universal early child care and education to spur economic growth.

RICHMOND, Va. - As U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., takes heat this week for attending a posh fundraiser in a dress that said "Tax the Rich," dozens of wealthy taxpayers have requested just that, in a letter sent to Congress.

More than 200 millionaires and business leaders, including two prominent Virginians, say they feel raising their taxes is essential to cover critical social investments in President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan.

Sandra Fluke, president of Voices for Progress, the group that organized the letter campaign, said a recent report confirms many billionaires and corporations pay no taxes. She said she thinks it's more fair for those who have the most to pay more in taxes, since they benefit more.

"We have situations where we are taxing the pay that someone receives, their salary from working a job, more than we are taxing the profits that are made on investments," she said, "and that's just wrong."

A recent survey found that 68% of Virginia voters support Biden's $3.5 trillion plan, and more than two-thirds said it should be funded by taxing those making more than $400,000 a year. Joan Huffer, a well-known tax policy expert and philanthropist from Northern Virginia, also signed the letter.

This week, a group of House Democrats released a draft plan to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 26.5% percent for large, profitable businesses to help pay for Biden's plan. Fluke said that would go a long way to help fund new spending in areas including health care and clean energy.

"Child-care affordability, and home- and community-based care, and paid leave, fighting climate change and protecting all of us from natural disasters are good investments," she said, "investments that will help to rebuild our economy and strengthen our democracy."

The letter mentioned that the wealth of 700 billionaires rose by 60% during the pandemic, while many working families suffered. The signers said it's up to those who became richer in the health crisis, and whose lifestyles would be only marginally affected, to fix the imbalance.